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You must see value in yourself to add value to yourself

Personal development is the belief that you are worth the effort, time, and energy needed to develop yourself – Dennis Waitley

So what is it that keeps people from being successful? You see I believe that the seeds of success are within each person. All we need to do is cultivate those seeds, splash some water on them, feed them, and they will grow. That said, I believe that the single most important leadership goal to achieve is to add value to other people – help them see, reach, and obtain their potential!

So the question remains – “Why do people fail to reach their potential? I believe that one answer is that people do not believe in themselves. They have unlimited potential and yet never cultivate the possibilities!

Low self esteem puts a ceiling on our potential

John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable laws of leadership discusses the “Law of The Lid.” Imagine that you desire to do something great in your life that will impact a lot of people. Listen closely here as non-profit leaders influencing other people with eternal messaging. You see that desire, no matter how great, will be limited by your leadership. Your potential is hindered by the lid of self worth.

Look at this way – if my potential is a 10, but I see myself as a 5, I will never lead others to their 10. At best I can only lead people to a 4. Here is the dirty secret on life: “People will never be able to outperform their self image!

10 Steps to Build Self Image

1. Guard Your Self-Talk – In their book The Answer, authors John Assaraf and Murray Smith state that by the time you reach your 17th birthday you have heard “NO YOU CAN’T” 150,000 times. You have only heard “YES YOU CAN” 5,000 times. That is 30 nos for every yes! That makes for a powerful belief system of “I CAN’T!” Learn to become you own encourager and cheer-leader.
2. Stop Comparing Yourself To Others – Comparing yourself to others is a needless distraction. One of 2 things happen: either we become discouraged because we believe that others far ahead of me and I will never catch up or we see ourselves far ahead of everyone else and allow pride to dominate our perspective.
3. Move Beyond Your limiting Beliefs – Charles Schwab stated that when a person has put a limit on what he will do, he has put a limit on what can do! Author Jack Canfield offers four steps to transform limiting beliefs into empowering beliefs…
   1. He states to Identify a limiting belief that you want to change
   2. Determine how a belief limits you
   3. Decide how you want to be, act, or feel
   4. Create a turnaround statement that affirms or gives permission to be, act, or feel in a new way.
4. Add Value To Others – It is hard to feel bad about yourself when you are doing good for someone else. Adding value to other people repels low self worth. It creates a positive cycle of good will from one person to another.
5. Do The Right Thing, Even If It’s The Hard Thing – Always doing the right thing encourages positive growth. Being true to yourself and others builds positive self worth. You will begin to act your way into a positive attitude on life.
6. Practice A Small Discipline Daily In A Specific Area Of Your Life – Do not allow things to pile up at the last minute. This creates an almost impossible “Mount Everest” feeling that is stressful and hard to overcome. Discipline yourself to practicing small disciplinary steps to avoid the last minute push to conquer mountains.
7. Celebrate Small Victories – This is a follow up from the previous step. Do not under estimate the power of celebrating a victory – it encourages you. Simply stated learn to smile and celebrate more often.
8. Embrace A Positive Vision For Your Life Based On What You Value – In the words of June Carter Cash – “I am just trying to matter!” That is it in a nutshell – we all want our lives to matter. What prompts you to see a positive vision for your life? When you realize your potential and you see a vision of what can be – you will begin to take to steps toward becoming a new version of yourself.
9. Practice A One Word Strategy – If you could pick only one word to describe yourself, what would it be? I hope that it is positive because that will move you into a brighter tomorrow.
10. Take Responsibility For Your Life – We tend to get in life what we are willing to tolerate. If you do not have a plan and purpose for your life, you will most likely become part of someone else’s plan and purpose.

LINKS

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Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!